No Reason
by Final Hikari
Summary: 28/100 of the Genesis Rhapsodos x Minerva 100 Themes and first contest entry for the 2009 Red Leather Writing Competition. As he watches the place he once called home burn, Genesis Rhapsodos reflects on the deceitful truth of his reality.


Disclaimer: Final Hikari doesn't own anything from Final Fantasy VII.

_No Reason_

Genesis Rhapsodos landed on the edge of a cliff high above Banora, not far from where the Turks had momentarily landed their helicopter before evacuating the town. The Shin-Ra lapdogs were now gone, as were the many citizens that once inhabited the small village. Flame now consumed the structures that had not been annihilated the moment the bombs detonated.

The many orchards of Banora White Trees spread the fire easily. The sea breeze blew the scorching heat toward him, but at the high elevation, it was little more than a mild discomfort. A deep cavern was vaguely visible in the center of the town where the first and most deadly explosion occurred. The familiar homes, roads, and landmarks were all enveloped by the deadly embrace of the blaze.

His wing was stretched to its full length, causing black feathers to sway in the breeze and blow toward his burning home. The wind danced by him, taunting him with the sorrow it carried in the form of fluttering, falling ash. He gripped the hilt of his rapier tightly; if it weren't for the blood red gloves that shielded his hands, his white knuckles would have been visible.

Even if it had all been a lie - an illusion created by Shin-Ra to disguise the unforgivable atrocities they committed - his many childhood memories in the town were not forever changing. They were stagnant and remained at the forefront of his mind as the last of his past, his life when he was deceived into thinking he was human, was slowly incinerated before his eyes.

It brought gravity to the reality he faced. He was a _monster._ An abomination in the eyes of the Goddess, who bore a demon's wing on his left shoulder as a testament to what he was reduced to. His muscles were rigid and the unhealing wound on his shoulder, close to his wing, had reopened.

The black shirt of his SOLDIER uniform was soaked in blood, but the pain seemed distant. He had become resigned to it; compared to the sorrow that had taken root in his mind and heart the moment the command of air strike was issued, it was merely a dull ache.

Genesis watched darkly as his home disappeared in flames and the largest Banora White Tree, known for bearing the sweetest dumbapples, caught fire. The ravenous orange tongues licked up the pale trunk of the massive tree and left it scorched, blackened, and undeniably dead. Once it reached the leaves, the burning intensified, and the ripe fruit destroyed. With a flicker, it vanished into darkness.

_I cannot return._

He turned around abruptly and walked brusquely away from the ruins. He faced into the wind, expression blank. The shadow of the unshakeable sorrow was reflected in his eyes, but there was no one left close enough to him to see it. Even if the Goddess Minerva would bother glancing at the damned, the pain would have been indiscernible.

"There is no reason…," he whispered under his breath, "to destroy even the smallest, most insignificant portion of the world without meaning…"

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Author's note: This does not count as part of the oneshot! XD The oneshot - counting the title - is 518 words. If you count the disclaimer, it's 528...but this doesn't count! XD Really!

I must say, though there's little plot in a 500 word limit oneshot, I really love how easy this was. XD I mean, I started, wrote a page, read it over, touched it up, and I was done! I wrote this for the 2009 Writing Competition for xRedLeatherx, the Genesis Rhapsodos fan club on DeviantART! I'll write a second entry this year - since I really get a kick out of writing 500 to 550 words and getting to call it a complete submission - but here's my first. :D It also doubles as Theme 28, Sorrow, in my Genesis x Minerva 100 Themes. XD

And "No Reason" by Gackt, B-Side to "Lost Angels," really is a great song. *shot* Thanks for reading and please review!


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